Wednesday, November 16, 2011

IONE – The Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) denied parole today to inmate Charles Denton Watson at a parole suitability hearing at Mule Creek State Prison. Inmate Watson, 65, has been serving a life sentence for his involvement in the 1969 Manson Family murders.

It was Watson’s 16th appearance before a BPH panel. Inmate Watson will be considered for another parole review in five years.

On August 9, 1969, Charles “Tex” Watson and his crime partners Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Linda Kasabian murdered Abigail Ann Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Earl Parent, Sharon Tate Polanski who was eight months pregnant, and Thomas Jay Sebring. Folger, Polanski and Sebring died from multiple stab wounds. Frykowski was shot, received multiple blunt force trauma to his head, and was stabbed. He died from the gunshot wound. Parent died from multiple gunshot wounds.

On October 21, 1971, Watson was sentenced to death by a Los Angeles County jury and received onto California’s death row on November 17, 1971 for seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. On December 13, 1972, the Superior Court of California in the County of Los Angeles vacated and set aside the death penalty pursuant to People v. Anderson (1972). The Anderson decision caused all capital sentences in the State of California to be commuted to life in prison. The decision was retroactive. Watson’s death sentence was vacated on March 20, 1973 and he was resentenced to a life term. He has been housed at Mule Creek State Prison since 1993.

The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.